The Magnificient Bronies: The Marshal Returns
by presidentuziel
Summary: The tragic story of Braeburn Apple is revealed, as well as his relationship to the star of "Ponyville Election." The tale of heroes and remembered, and a new hero emerges to take up his father's mantle!
1. Chapter 1

Many years ago, in an obscure region of Equestria…

The apple trees were barren. There weren't even leaves to fall from the trees anymore. They were just dead sticks in the ground, weeping for the life they once had brought to this town and to the region around it. Even the ground around the trees seemed to have packed up all the life within and left as the trees had whithered. It was nothing but dirt and misery in this patch of land now. The trains didn't stop on the tracks, they just passed this old town by.

A slim but tall stallion with an orange-amber mane, a light brown coat, and chartreuse green eyes walked through the dead orchard without a word. He was followed closely by a mare with an amber yellow coat and an amber orange coat with orange freckles on her cheeks followed her.

"I reckon it's time to move away, then," the stallion sighed, lightly hitting one of the dead trees, "There ain't nothin' here for us no more."

"That ain't true, Wayne! Your pa's land can still be good, we can't squander what little we have left!" the mare replied.

"Macoun, this land were squandered well afore we tried bringin' life here. We were foals t' think we could fix my pappy's mistakes. This land were squandered when mah pappy and his brother refused to git along. There t'ain't nothin' more we can do. We tried, Macoun. We put our lives and fortunes into this land, hopin' we could fix it. We tried, Macoun, but this land were dyin' long afore we came."

Wayne nuzzled his wife.

"All we can do is move on, and let nature and the Buffalo take what's theirs. Maybe one day this orchard will bloom and bring happiness and fortune…But it won't be ours. You should go back to Ponyville, Macoun, go take care of your mother."

"Wayne-"

"My cousin Elliot's got work for me in Shetcago. I'll save up some money and we can buy a home, don't you worry. Elliot's always come through for me before."

"And when he does you always end up goin' inta danger, Wayne! Shetcago's dangerous nowadays!"

"That's why they need lawmen like me, Macoun!"

"We need you!" Macoun replied, tears rolling down her cheeks, and Wayne kissed her.

"Don't you worry none. I'll write and send money, and come down every chance I get. I wish we could stay, but Appleloosa's dead, and we have nothin' to our names. Your brother an' your ma will take care of you an' Braeburn. I'll go break it to the boy."

Wayne sulked back to the house as Macoun stood in the orchard, crying. Wayne approached his son, who was hauling a nearly empty bucket of water to the dogs, of which there were once twice as many, the rest now having passed on or sold to be able to make ends' meet. Braeburn so did miss those dogs. Now they only had a pair of border collies, Wendy and Willy. At least Wendy had a litter of puppies coming, and was getting all the life she could spare. Willy, on the other hand, seemed as depressed and lifeless as their hometown. The dog came out, wagging his tail unenthusiastically.

"Come on, Willy, chin up," Braeburn said, pouring the water for the dogs. They came over and started drinking. Braeburn nuzzled the unenthusiastic Willy, who looked up and barked at something approaching Braeburn. He turned, and saw his father.

"Oh, hey, pa, just feedin' the dogs. I think Wendy's gonna have a good, healthy litter. Can't wait to help with the delivery."

"I know y'are, son. Listen, go pack yer things, all of what you can."

"What's wrong, pa?"

"We can't stay here no longer, Braeburn. We're going to catch the next train, I'll phone the train company and have them pick us up."

Braeburn looked to Willy and Wendy. Willy's expression seemed to be that of 'Told ya.' Wendy was toting her extra weight, looking for a cool, shady spot.

"We ain't comin' back, are we?"

"I don't think so, Braeburn. And I don't think anyone is gonna want to buy it neither. But it'll still be ours. For what that's worth."

Wayne nuzzled Braeburn.

"You an' your ma are gonna live with your cousins in Ponyville for a while. They've got another one, you know. Her name's Apple Bloom. I bet she'll be happy to-"

Braeburn put his head into his father's chest, crying. Wayne didn't say anything more, he just put his hoof over his son, and let him cry.

A few years later…

"Last one there's a rotten apple!" Braeburn challenged.

"Aw, come on, Braeburn, we always gotta race? Why don'tcha take it easy fer once!" Big Mac replied. He sighed when he saw Braeburn ready to take off, rolled his eyes, got ready, got set, and took off. Big Macintosh was larger than Braeburn was, but that didn't stop Braeburn from burning energy like the sun, so it actually was some effort for Big Macintosh to keep ahead of Braeburn. The fact Big Macintosh kept winning was probably the reason Braeburn kept challenging him to a hoofrace. As usual, Big Macintosh won just ahead of Braeburn, and his cousin skidded to a halt as he was just a split second behind.

"Aww, shucks, y'beat me again," BRaeburn lamented. Big Macintosh chuckled.

"A-yup," he replied. They heard a pair of girls giggling, and looked over to the barn; Applejack, recently returned from her trip to Manehattan, was playing with Applebloom and the firstborn of Wendy's pups, Winona. Braeburn's head turned away from the Apple sisters, and to the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres, and Big Macintosh followed his gaze. There was a blue-furred stallion with a darker blue mane. At his flank was a boy not much younger than Braeburn. The boy had a black mane and a brown-almost-golden coat. The blue pony was wearing a fedora hat and a matching vest. Neither looked very happy.

"Why don't you go play with those boys over there, Fresnel?" the stallion suggest, and Fresnel nodded, sulking over to Braeburn and Big Macintosh. The stallion nodded to Big Macintosh.

"You might not want to come near the house for a while," the stallion said, "Go play in the orchard or something."

Big Macintosh and Braeburn noted the stallion's sobriety of tone, and obeyed, leading Fresnel away. Braeburn put on a smile.

"My name's Braeburn, what's yers?"

"Fresnel…Fresnel Nessy…"

"Nessy! Why, that's my papy's cousin's last name! You kin?"

Fresnel looked at Braeburn with a shocked face, and tears came to his eyes, and he took off. Braeburn's expression went to that of confusion.

"What's caught in his hooves?"

"Dernit, Braeburn!" Big Macintosh hissed, and he took after Fresnel, and Braeburn gave chase soon after. They found Fresnel sobbing under one of the larger apple trees on the orchard.

"Whassamatter, Fresnel?" Braeburn asked, and Fresnel turned away.

"Go away…" he muttered, "I don't wanna talk to you…"

"Just tryin' to be friendly…" Braeburn scorned.

"Braeburn, I think somethin's wrong. Fresnel, would to talk to me if Braeburn left?"

Fresnel looked to Braeburn, then to Big Macintosh, and nodded, muttering quietly, "Sorry…"

"Give us a minute, wouldya?" Big Macintosh requested, and Braeburn, without scorn, nodded and walked away. He was halfway to the house when he heard Fresnel bawling again; Braeburn looked over his flank, and saw that Big Macintosh's signature hay had fallen out of his mouth, and he was staring at Braeburn, not Fresnel. It sent a chill down Braeburn's spine, so he decided to go see what Applejack and Applebloom were up to, in order to try and get his mind off of it. When he got near the house, he heard his mother screaming, and galloped to the house, and saw the blue pony trying to talk to Braeburn's mother. Granny Smith and Ma and Pa Apple were trying to hold back Macoun, presumably from killing the blue stallion.

"GET OUT OF HERE! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN! YOU AND YOUR…LAW! ENFORCEMENT! FRIENDS!" Macoun was throwing apples at the blue pony, and the blue pony took the hint, galloping out of the house, and Macoun broke down, crying. The blue stallion walked onto the porch, his head hung low. He noticed Braeburn.

"Mare in the moon, I told you…Horseradishes, I can't do this…" the stallion, himself, seemed to be crying, and he trotted away. Braeburn entered the house, and dared to mutter,

"Ma?"


	2. Chapter 2

About three years before the return of Luna…

"Come on, Braeburn, I can jump-start my business with this money. And if it's successful, you'll have _more_ than enough to move out of your cousins' home," Fresnel pleaded.

"I dunno…Selling my father's story to the movies?" Braeburn wasn't sure.

"I know the guy that's directing it, Braeburn, I trust him, and we're going to be associate producers. We'll make a fortune, and we'll have say about what's going on in the movie. Anything we want them to remove is out of the film. I know we never got the chance to get to know each other, but I knew both of our fathers. Wayne was like a second father to me."

"I thought TJ was?" Braeburn snapped, and that put Fresnel on the back hoof.

"Yeah. I was fortunate like that. And guess what, Braeburn? I lost him, too. At least your aunt and uncle are still alive, even if they've moved away. I have nothing but my hat and my parents' story. We can _immortalize_ them Braeburn, and tell all of Equestria about what they did. They were _good people. _They were protectors, guardians. _Lawmen._ They cleaned up the streets of Shetcago, serving the country and people they loved, for us and for all of Equestria."

"My ma-"

"Your mother would want people to remember Wayne Marshal as being a good man that protected and provided. I need this, so I'm selling my father's story. But you can't have Elliot Nelly without Wayne Marshal. Or TJ Hoofer, or the Winkered Ranger, Thunderhooves, or Gladys Java. They were all a team, they were _legends. _And they were our parents. If this is how they'd be able to provide for us, I don't think they would mind. I won't let them screw this up, Braeburn, you know that."

Braeburn looked to the contract. He didn't like this…But Fresnel was right. He couldn't live on Sweet Apple Acres forever. And what he was guaranteed…That was enough to buy his own small farm, or just a house. Maybe he could franchise and sell apples in the city. And if the movie made money…Maybe…Just maybe…It would be enough…

"All right, Fresnel. I'll play. But I want EVERYTHING to do with this movie, I want to be sure the script is done right and I wanna be sure the director's good. I'm trustin' you on this, Fresnel. I know I can trust you, but if this don't work, I'm holdin' you accountable, y'hear?"

"I completely understand. You like Buck Norris movies?"

"Aw, here we go…"

Nine months later…

Braeburn had never been to Salt Lick City. He didn't know that it was such a big place for movies; he'd always heard that the city for movies was Las Arabias. Salt Lick City wasn't too far from Appleloosa, either…

He and Fresnel had just seen the first release of the movie, and the executive producer wanted to see them. Braeburnw as nervous, and wore his best suit as a result. Fresnel was dressed well, as well, but didn't seem nervous.

"Don't worry, BRaeburn, you saw the film. It was fantastic!" he grinned, and Braeburn nodded.

"True…I didn't think Buck Norris would be able to pull it off, but…Yeah, he did all right. Can't say much for the kid that played me…"

"Ugh, he was a punk. But the one they got for me was pretty cool. He kept melting every time I was around, kept asking for my autograph."

"Hehehe, that was purty funny," Braeburn admitted. The elevator arrived at the right level, and the parasprites returned to Braeburn's stomach. Fresnel led the way, and Braeburn swallowed the apple in his throat. Fresnel had a swagger, Braeburn a drag. Inside, Joel and Ethan Colten were waiting for them.

"Braeburn! Fresnel! Just the ponies I was hoping to see!" Joel said, "The movie's a hit, fellas. Congratulations, we could not have made this movie without you two."

Braeburn let out a sigh of relief that nearly shattered the windows. Fresnel chuckled.

"We wanted to thank you in person for all of your contributions. I know you both have lives back in your respective homes, and you've spent a lot of time away from your friends and families. Fresnel, you've recovered from serious injuries, and still spent an incredible amount of time on the set, helping out. So, we're pleased to give you these. You've earned them, and the ones to follow," Ethan said, handing them each a check for very large amounts of money with telekinesis. Braeburn looked at the check.

"This is a very large number," he observed.

"So it is," Joel chuckled, his wings flapping a bit in amusement, "Bubbly to celebrate?"

"Please," Fresnel said, stashing his check into his coat. Braeburn didn't much care for champagne, but sharing a bottle with two of the most successful and talented director-producers that just made a grand epic about Braeburn's father and with his second cousin who talked him into it…That made it the best champagne he'd ever had. All in all, it was a good night.

A year before Nightmare Moon's return…

"All right, what's this about, Braeburn?" Applejack sighed, "We got apples to buck!"

"I know, I know," Braeburn said, "But I got great news. You know Appleloosa?"

"A-yup," Big Mac said.

"Well, with the money I got from the film, I got the farm livin' again. Cuz's…I'm goin' home!" Braeburn tried to remain composed, but he couldn't help the tears, "I got it to live again, after all these years. I got about twenty ponies sayin' they'd move their businesses there when I'm workin' the farm full time!"

"Th-The Appleloosa farm!" Granny smith exclaimed, "Oh, my! I remember when your mother said she was going to go manage it for your father…I told her there'd be nothin' but misery in Appleloosa, but I can't say that now, Braeburn. I'm so proud of you, I know you've worked so hard to get that land to live again!"

Braeburn had been spending all of his time between Sweet Apple and Appleloosa for the last year and a half, trying to get the land to live again. He'd tried so many methods, both traditional, scientific, and magic. Somewhere along the line, he found a balance, and now he had a small orchard working. It would take years to get the orchard to full capacity, but with a lot of hard work, Appleloosa would flourish like the times of his great-grandfather, when the farm had first been founded and successful.

"That's fantastic, Braeburn! I know you've been dreamin' about this fer years! The orchard won't be the same without you, though," Applejack admitted.

"You'll visit, won'tcha?" Applebloom begged, making her big, adorable eyes. Braeburn nuzzled her.

"As often as I can, and when I can't, I'll write. You all have been just so great to me…I can't thank you all enough. You've all been siblin's to me. I love you all so much."

Braeburn brought them all in for a great big family hug, which was probably the best hug he'd ever had.

Later that night…

Braeburn looked upon Sweet Apple Acres, and sighed. Not in disappointment that he was going to leave, but in satisfaction. This had been his life, but it wasn't his land, and it wasn't his destiny. It wasn't his life, not anymore anyway. Braeburn was excited, not to mention proud of himself. He didn't like to be arrogant, but there wasn't any wrong in having pride in one's accomplishments, and he was quite proud. He didn't even notice Big Macintosh approach.

"So you're all set and ready to go, then?"

"Huh? Oh, hi Big Macintosh. Not for a couple days yet, but I will soon. Listen, Big Macintosh, I just wanted to thank you, for everything…"

"It's nothin', Braeburn. You ever need three times or more the help you've given us, I owe t'you. You've been my brother since you got here, don't you doubt that for a second. We're here if you ever need us."

"And the same to you, Big Mac. I just…I can't believe this is actually happenin'! I've heard the stories from my ma and my pa about what happened to Appleloosa. It's a might shame about what happened to it, it were a good town."

"I've heard the story, but I still don't understand it completely. I know that it was your great-grandpappy's farm, and your grandpappy didn't take care of it right."

"Well, yeah. But there is more to it than that…"

((Which you will have to wait until Chapter 3 to learn! Muahahahaha!))


	3. Chapter 3

Many, many years ago, like, a long time ago. We're not talking 'Back when Luna was banished' long, but we're talking older than Granny Smith here. Seriously, nopony alive today was around at this time. Well, except for, like, Celestia and Monk, but you probably don't remember Monk. He was mentioned in the first one of this series. He was Fresnel's mentor, but I probably shouldn't have told you he was that old. What were we doing? Oh, yeah, a really long time ago…

Back when Ponyville was young, there was a stallion that went by the name Malus Planter that, one day, wandered into a dying salt mining town not too far Salt Lick City. Here, land was cheap because the salt mine was slowly becoming less and less profitable. Ponies were leaving by the day, and Diamond Dogs had taken over parts of the mine, hoping to find gemstones.

Malus Planter took a gamble on this town, and bought some cheap land outside of this little town, and began planting apple trees. It took him several years and no end of hard work and, despite the warnings of his neighbors and the warnings of the other businesses, Malus's orchard eventually flourished, and brought people back to the town. Other orchards sprang up, though Malus Orchards (Later renamed Planter Orchards for publicity reasons) always remained the largest and most successful. Malus became a very wealthy pony, and was generous with his money and his time. He made wise investments in the city and became a well known and respected Pony who was always invited to the Grand Galloping Gala for his success.

Malus met his wife, Vitis, at the farmer's market while he was picking over for some vegetables. She was a beautiful mare, and he fell instantly in love with her. Vitis's family ran a vineyard, but it was slowly failing because of the success that Malus had brought to the newly renamed town of Appleloosa. Malus, a generous pony by nature, saw the dire straits Vitis Winer's family was in, and bought all of her grapes that day, and offered the Winer Vineyard a deal: He would invest in their vineyard, and make the Winer Grapes a Planter brand, which would not only keep their vineyard alive but flourishing under Planter's booming fruit business, which had numerous brands of every kind of fruit, from apples to oranges, dates to pomegranates. But no grapes.

At first, Vitis was suspicious, and they turned down his offer at first, but he volunteered to work their vineyard for a year, under the condition that if he was a hard and loyal worker, they would allow him to sell their grapes under his brand.

Malus kept his deal, passing on the business of Planter Fruits to his partners and managers, and worked the vineyard for a whole year. And sure enough, he worked that vineyard as hard as he'd worked his own first apple orchard in a land everyone told him was completely worthless. Vitis saw and respected Malus's dedication to his friends and to his associates, and, as they agreed, Winer Grapes became a Planter brand. In fact they did so well that they made enough to expand, and Malus, ever smitten with the Winer eldest daughter, offered some of his best land as dowry for Vitis's hoof in marriage. Within two months, they were happily married, and she bore him three foals: Nelly, Marshal, and Cherry.

Now, Cherry was certainly a daddy's little girl, and he knew that she was going to be a great orchard foremare herself one day. But his sons, Nelly and Marshal, they didn't pick up on their father's generous and hardworking nature. It started with the two boys simply fighting over toys. Then they became spoiled little brats, the bane of the Appleloosa schoolyard, always fighting and pushing the other colts around and generally being at odds with one another. Malus always put them to work whenever they were bad, which was often, hoping they'd grow an appreciation for it, but they grew resentful of it and saw working the trees as punishment.

Still, Marshal proved good at organizing the orchards and managing the business, and Nelly was good with money, so they were both put in charge of parts of the family business for a while. Cherry Planter took to her namesake, and was operating a successful cherry orchard before she was even out of school, while Nelly's shrewd money dealings and Marshal's precise managerial style helped Planter Fruits flourish more than it ever had before.

Nelly and Marshal still despised each other.

As time passed, Malus and Vitis got old, and decided to hand down the business to their children. Cherry operated the fields, Marshal managed the business, and Nelly managed the money, and times were good. But Malus became unexpectedly ill, and it took his life one tragic day. In his will, he left the business of Planter Fruits to Marshal, the family fortune to Nelly, and the orchards themselves to Cherry.

But the fued between Marshal and Nelly prevented any one of these things from being successful. Nelly decided to invest the fortune in other things, to try and diversify the Planter portfolio. Marshal became aggressive in his expansion, and was unable to deal with negotiating with the otherwise peaceful (and sometimes cooperative) Diamond Dogs who kept sapping the land after Malus's passing for diamonds. With the land slowly dying and the business's money tied up in other things, Cherry was unable to properly run the orchards, and it all suffered.

Cherry attempted to get her brothers to work together to try and keep the business going, but Nelly and Marshal's feud grew heated as things got worse. They had a son each, Elliot and Wayne, while Cherry kept her private life just so: Private. Although she had three daughters by that time, they had no father. Fed up with her brothers, she sold the orchards to Marshal, keeping a cherry orchard to herself to run as she saw fit.

Marshal was a competent forestallion and he knew how to keep a business organized…But money was not his strong suit. On the other hand, Nelly was good with money but had no knack for running a business. Without his brother to back him up with a successful business, Nelly's investments failed, and without the money, Marshal was unable to keep Planter Fruits successful. Both were forced into smaller and smaller worlds, until Marshal was running a single orchard, and Nelly was working as a small time banker.

Neither brother was impoverished, that was for sure, but they no longer lived with the riches they once had. Their sister cut off relations with them, and moved away from Appleloosa. Such was the end of the first Appleloosa.

Wayne and Elliot, meanwhile, grew up courageous and just little Colts. Where their fathers bullied others and made them do their bidding, Wayne and Elliot grew up as protectors of the weak. Elliot grew up on the streets of Shetcago and Manehattan, where the weak were prey for the strong, while Wayne grew up in the hard Appleloosa desert, where the strong grew weak and the weak withered and died. But they were both strong colts, and they lent their strength to those who could not, or would not for any reason, defend themselves.

They both had a lawman's badge for a cutie mark: Elliot's that of the city, and Marshal's that of the rangers of the Equestria frontier. Wayne protected Appleloosa from Diamond Dogs and bandits that preyed upon what little life it had left. He joined forces with a hereditary legend, the Winkered Ranger, and his close friend and confidant, the buffalo Thunderhooves. But Wayne had responsibilities beyond being just a lawman; his family orchard was failing, and they needed help. Sweet Apple Acres had once been a Planter brand, but with the collapse of the business, they went solo, and kept their successful brand. To keep the Planter apple orchard alive, Marshal Planter arranged for his son to marry Macoun Apple. Wayne and Macoun knew each other in passing, so it wasn't that they were getting married to strangers, but it was an arranged marriage nonetheless. It began awkwardly, to say the least. To distance the slowly rejuvenating farm under Macoun's care, Wayne changed his last name to Marshal, to distance them from the failed Planter name.

Elliot Planter, on the other hoof, was given a lot more leeway in his life. He was able to go to college, getting his Bachelor in Criminal Justice and first joined the Shetcago Police Force, and later the Royal Bureau of Investigations, and his cases became famous for cracking down on the herd families, such as the honor-bound Corlehooves and the Grifbino Griffin family. Most famously, his investigations brought down Al Clopone, Equestria's most notorious gangster. While his father was not a successful investor, he did, over the years, become a respected (and eventually, generous) banker, so Elliot changed his last name to Nelly to reflect the stern generosity his father had grown to represent.

So when Elliot and Wayne met for the first time while both were chasing the outlaw Horsey Wales, they had no idea that they were related. Elliot had a team, himself, of rookie law enforcers: TJ Hoofer, a Shetcago policeman; and Gladys Java, a Coast Guard officer that was attached to his team to catch bandits that worked through sea and land.

Elliot and Wayne were like brothers; it wasn't until marshal visited his son while he was staying in Shetcago for a case that they realized that Elliot was Nelly's son. The Planter brothers reunited…And promptly began fighting again. Elliot and Wayne, however, closer than brothers, refused to fall into their fathers' feud.

Gladys and Elliot eventually married, and had a son named Fresnel, while Wayne and Macoun, who'd gradually truly fallen in love. Marshal and Nelly eventually passed away, never having either reconciled or bested their brother. It was around this time that a young dragon named Killinger came to power.

Killinger started as sort of a pet for a Grifino underboss, hatched by one of his unicorn underlings. Abused, neglected, and treated like an animal, Killinger struck out against his handlers. Rescued when Elliot Nelly came down on the Grifinos, Killinger ended up in the hands of one of the snitches for Nelly. But Killinger had heard and learned a lot of things while he was the grifino's pet, and began his own little gang. By the time he was seventeen, when Fresnel was just a boy, he controlled the Equestria underworld.

Killinger, however, was a ruthless herd boss, and targeted his enemies where it hurt them the most. He funded the Diamond Dogs and poisoned the land of Appleloosa. The Whickered Ranger sacrificed himself to prevent the Buffalo herds from being massacred. When the Planter orchard died, the crackdown on Killinger was in full swing. Eventually, the RBI took him down and imprisoned Killinger…But not before there were only two survivors of Equestria's finest: TJ Hoofer, Elliot's protégé, and Thunderhooves. TJ adopted Fresnel and provided for him; his parents' deaths were thought to be an accident, but Fresnel earned his cutie mark when he proved that Killinger was behind it. Thunderhooves returned to his herd, and later became Chief.

Back to Braeburn and Big Macintosh…

"So you see, it wasn't just my grandpappy mishandling the farm. It was poisoned and the life sucked out by terrible people, Big Macintosh. My pa died trying to bring the man who kilt our farm to justice, and he did it. But it cost him his life, and my mother's when she died of a broken heart…"

"I knew yer pappy was a lawman, I hadn't realized how much it mattered to him."

"Ay-yup," Braeburn replied.

"So what are you gonna do about keepin' Appleloosa safe from them diamond dogs?"

"I know a feller who used to work with my pa. He was a Ranger back in the day, I'll bring him on as sheriff. Silverstar ain't too old yet."

"Well, I know that your folks would be proud of all your hard work, Braeburn. I know I am. You take care of yerself out there."

"Aw, shucks, I ain't gone yet. I still have a couple of days to finally beat you in a hoof race! Come on!" Braeburn challenged, hopping down from their spot. Big Macintosh chuckled, and followed his cousin. The more things change…


End file.
